More Reasons to Always Be ‘Gramming: Everyone Can Now Live Stream on Instagram

Shea Lignitz·Dec 12, 2016

Instagram is one of our favorite places on the internet to get lost, and it’s so easy to do, what with it being one of the number one ways to spot trends (like holographic lips and double crescent nails). It’s also gotten some well-deserved respect lately for releasing features that fight back against trolls and cyber bullies. Instagram: 1, Haters: 0. The social media platform has seen a lot of change this year, with their branding redesign and torrent of new features, the latest of which is — drum roll — live video streaming for everyone (not just celebs!). If we were Snapchat, we’d be shaking in our (super stylish) boots right about now.

You’ll need to update your app to get the new feature (which is rolling out over the next few days), but once you’ve done that, streaming live is super easy. Just swipe right from your feed and tap the Live button. Your Live videos will disappear as soon as you’re done recording, rather than Snapchat’s 24 hour rule. Since a lot of businesses operate Instagram accounts, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some businesses running Live video promotions — for example, if you happen to be on Insta when one of your favorite brands goes live, they might offer a special promo code just for viewers.

As far as personal use goes, Insta’s new feature would be a great way to share your surroundings with friends and family who can’t be with you in the moment, like if you’re traveling or at a concert, for example.

Whether it’s for personal or business use, we’re excited to see what people come up with!

What do you think of Instagram’s new feature? Should Snapchat be worried? Tell us @BritandCo!